Let It Grow: Connecticut Leads Farm Growth In New England

On Smaller Plots, Young Farmers, Older People Trying New Careers Push Up Numbers

Andy Billipp reaches over to place a retaining clip into the soil to hold… (John Woike / Hartford Courant )

March 23, 2014|By STEVE GRANT, Special to The Hartford Courant

Bucking a national trend and reversing decades of decline in the 20th century, the number of farms in Connecticut surged dramatically upward in recent years, most likely driven by growing consumer demand for fresh, locally grown food.

The latest U. S. Department of Agriculture Census of Agriculture shows that the number of farms nationwide declined by 4 percent between 2007 and 2012 — while New England states, including Connecticut, saw significant increases in the number of farms.

Connecticut led all of New England with a 22 percent increase in the number of farms created since 2007, adding 1,061 additional farms for a total of 5,977. Land included in those farms totaled 436,406 acres, up 8 percent.

"The number of farmers and the amount of land in farms are both increasing. A lot of that I think is related to consumer demand for locally grown," he said.

"I think it is a confirmation of what people felt was going on on the ground in Connecticut. Now that the Census has been released, we are able to put numbers to how people thought things were moving."

Many of the new farms are small, and many of the new farmers are young, in their 20s, or they are men and women 45 or older who ditched another career or chose farming as a satisfying second career, sometimes as a retirement career.

"It really is wonderful. Many of us have thought for a long time that we needed more farmers in Connecticut," said Bill Duesing, organic advocate with the Connecticut chapter of the Northeast Organic Farming Association. "If we are going to feed people healthy food we need more production. The way to get fresh vegetables is to grow them close by."

Among the new farmers are Haley and Andy Billipp, who cultivate four acres on the Eddy Farm in Newington, where Haley's family has farmed for generations.

"This is a very good time to get into farming if this is something you can do, and want to do, because there are so many people who are interested in local produce and organic produce and want to know the place where their food is coming from," she said.

The couple took over the farm in 2011 and continue to develop the business, recently adding greenhouses to expand the growing season and harvest greens even in winter.

The federal survey also keeps tabs on farmers by gender, identifying principal farm operators. The number of farms in Connecticut headed by women soared in the latest survey, from 1,161 in 2007 to 1,501 in 2014.

In New England, farms run by women historically "is more of a tradition than in other parts of the country," said Gary R. Keough, the USDA's state statistician for the New England states.

Among the new women farmers is Susan Mitchell, who manages White Gate Farm in East Lyme. She said the appeal of farming, despite the enormous hard work involved, is the satisfaction of the work, of growing high-quality food for others.

"It takes the rare individual to want to farm," she said. "The folks who do it do it because they love it. They love the lifestyle, love producing food for the community. That in and of itself is rewarding."

Only days ago she was harvesting greens from her greenhouse and driving them to local chefs who want the freshest produce for their restaurants. She also is a member of the steering committee of the New Connecticut Farmer Alliance, a networking group created to share information among new farmers.

Connecticut has encouraged women farmers. The group, which belongs to the Northeast Organic Farming Association, in recent years has sponsored a yearly 10-session course specifically for beginning women farmers that typically attracts 15 participants. The organization also sponsors another conference for beginning organic farmers each January, attracting dozens of farmers-to-be. At least half of the 80 attendees at this year's conference were women, said Eileen Hochberg, executive director of the NOFA Connecticut chapter.

Among the attendees is Debra Sloane, who purchased a four-acre farm in Washington, Conn., in 2012 and began farming part of the land last year to get a feel for what would grow well and sell well.

While farmers like the Billipps and Mitchell are younger, Sloane has adult children and a business career in her background. She will grow on one acre this year, producing food for farmers markets and her own community supported agriculture program, in which families pay up front for a season's worth of fresh vegetables and fruits from a local farmer.

"I am building up slowly to see how much I can actually handle," she said.